Bradford Sabres
Bradford Sabres are an English ice hockey team that play in Division 2 North league of the British Universities Ice Hockey Association. They play their home games at the Bradford Ice Arena, Bradford, West Yorkshire. They were formed in 2005.
Bradford Sabres | |
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League | British Universities Ice Hockey Association |
Division | Division 2 North Division 3 North |
Founded | 2005 |
History | 2005 – present |
Arena | Bradford Ice Arena |
City | Bradford, England |
Team Colours | Black, Red & White |
Coach | Andy Brown |
Website | https://web.archive.org/web/20171025033036/http://www.bradfordsabres.co.uk/ |
Introduction
The Bradford Sabres are the ice hockey team for the University of Bradford and are run and funded by the University of Bradford Union. The club began in 2005 when a number of students decided that there should be an ice hockey club at the university. The early sessions consisted of only a handful of players, almost all of whom had no previous experience playing hockey. With the sessions being run by captain Mike Currie with the help of experienced netminder Kaz Matsumoto, the players started to gain some experience and it was decided that the club would enter into the British Universities Ice Hockey Association, Division 2 North cup competition.
Seasons
2005–2006
![](../I/Sabres_at_Sheffield.jpg.webp)
Although the team was gaining more experience, numbers were still very low until the in-take of freshers at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season. Amongst these were not only a large number of beginners, but also several players with previous experience, most notably Jan Kucera and Tim Kelly. The team's very first game was away against the Sheffied Bears where although they were beaten 7-0, there were several outstanding performances. Netminder Kaz Matsumoto was awarded man of the match having faced over 70 shots and there was also a superb performance by defender Tim Kelly who was on the ice for 56 of the 60 minutes played.
The Sabres first home game showed a marked improvement from their loss at Sheffield. Even though they were defeated 6-9 by the Birmingham Eagles proving that the team could score goals was a major boost. Making his debut in this match was Czech Republic born Jan Kucera who introduced himself to university hockey by scoring all six of the Sabres goals and deservedly winning his first Man of the Match award.
The Sabres first win came in their next game against the Newcastle Wildcats. This was the first of many very close and enjoyable games between the two teams. The Sabres won, 6-5. Once again Jan Kucera scored all six for the Sabres, and after only two matches for the club, he was already being recognised as the best player in the division. Man of the Match in this game was rookie netminder Stephen Wilson, playing the second thirty minutes and helping the team to hold on for their first victory.
However, that was the only victory the team had in their debut season, and they finished bottom of the division of seven teams. Another moment of note that season was away at Newcastle. The team were down 3-0 at the end of the first period, and looked out of the game. In the second period Jan Kucera scored a hat-trick in under one minute, scoring the first from open play, and the next two by winning the face-off and scoring un-assisted. The team lost the match 4-3, but the game still is still much talked about because of the hat-trick. The team were due to compete in their first ever national championships in April, where teams from both the north and south divisions competed over a weekend in a cup competition. However, due to administration complications not only were the team not allowed to compete, but they were also disqualified from the league, and their final position of seventh did not count. Although the games that were played didn't officially count, the experience the team gained was valuable for next season and for the continued growth of the club.
The end of the Sabres first season saw the departure of some key players. Jan Kucera - who still holds the record for goals scored - took the step up to the English National Ice Hockey League to play for the Bradford Bulldogs. Forward Ben Moss along with defenders Toni Brook and Louisa Bellis also departed the team after completing their final year at the university.
Off the ice there were also changes. President Ben Nunney along with treasurer Ben Neal left the university and their positions were taken over by Hassan Majeed and James Davidson while web officer Mike Currie continued with his role and Stephen Wilson took over the newly created position of fixtures Secretary.
Players of note
Executive committee
Season | President | General Sec | Treasurer | Fixtures Sec | Social Sec Bradford | Social Sec Leeds | Media Officer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004–2005 | Ben Nunney | N/A | Ben Neal | N/A | Hassan Majeed/ Louisa Bellis |
N/A | Mike Currie |
2005–2006 | Ben Nunney | N/A | Ben Neal | N/A | Hassan Majeed/ Louisa Bellis |
N/A | Mike Currie |
2006–2007 | Hassan Majeed | N/A | James Davidson | Stephen Wilson | Ian Lambert | N/A | Mike Currie |
2007–2008 | Hassan Majeed | Jonny Leadbeater | James Davidson | Rick Thomas | Bruno Le Quellec | N/A | Jason James |
2008–2009 | Stephen Wilson | Jonny Leadbeater | Jack Lingard | Tom Manyard | Sean Holland | N/A | Jason James |
2009–2010 | Jonny Leadbeater | Tom Manyard | Djevdet Ahmet | Martyn Wilson | Andy Marks | Chris Ward | Jason Simpson |
2010–2011 | Tom Manyard | Andy Marks | Thomas Dawson | N/A | N/A | Chris Ward | Jason Simpson |
2011–2012 | Thomas Dawson | Omar Chu | Dave Reid | N/A | N/A | Bridget Pike | Pete Marshall/ Nazar Striletski |
2012–2013 | Ste Hay | Simon Child | David Broadley | N/A | Rose Whan/ Benj Robinson |
Cassi Hall | Gintare Karpaviciute |
2013-2014 | Matt Passmore | Princess Consuela Banana Hammock | David Broadley | N/A | Tony Christie | N/A | N/A |
2014-2015 | Benj Robinson | Nathan Hewitt | Lizzie Gowland | N/A | Charlotte Tilley | N/A | N/A |
2015-2016 | Charlotte Tilley | Luke Mayhew | Adam Knizat | N/A | Doug Schulz/ | N/A | N/A |
2016-2017 | Mark Stockham | John Hemingway | N/A | N/A | Sammi / Esa | N/A | N/A |
On-ice officials
Season | Coach | Captain | Alternate (1) | Alternate (2) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004–2005 | Mike Currie | Mike Currie | N/A | N/A |
2005–2006 | Mike Currie | Mike Currie | Tim Kelly | Jan Kucera |
2006–2007 | Adam Chamberlain | Robert Harvey | Tim Kelly | Hassan Majeed |
2007–2008 | Adam Chamberlain | Peter Lee | Tim Kelly | Hassan Majeed |
2008–2009 | Andy Brown | Rick Thomas | Stephen Alexander | Jonny Leadbeater |
2009–2010 | Andy Brown | Jason Simpson | Jonny Leadbeater | Jan Kucera |
2010–2011 | Andy Brown | Andy Marks | Dan Cannon | Garen Arnet-Zargarian |
2011–2012 Div. 2 | Andy Brown | Andy Marks | Dan Cannon | Thomas Dawson |
2011–2012 Div. 3 | Andy Brown | Nick Grady | Gintare Karpaviciute | Nathan Hewitt |
2012–2013 Div. 2 | Andy Brown | Andy Marks | Pontus Ekhem | Mitch White |
2012–2013 Div. 3 | Andy Brown | Rob Caddle | Dave Reid | Nathan Hewitt |
Awards
Season | The Tim Kelly Award | Players Player | Most Improved | Rookie of the Year | Endeavour | Nationals MVP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005–2006 | N/A | N/A | Ben Moss | N/A | N/A | N/A |
2006–2007 | Tim Kelly | Kaz Matsumoto | Peter Lee | Stephen Alexander | Paul Hacking | Brian O'Brien |
2007–2008 | Kaz Matsumoto | Peter Lee | Rick Thomas | Luke Brind | Stephen Alexander | Alison Hover / Bruno Le Quellec |
2008–2009 | S. Alexander | |||||
2009–2010 | S. Wilson | |||||
2010–2011 | Tom Maynard | Garen Arnet-Zargarian | Thomas Dawson | Peter Marshall | Andy Marks | Dan Cannon |
2011-2012 | Thomas Dawson | Pontus Ekhem | Benj Robinson | Benj Robinson | Andy Marks | Joshua Hampton / Rob Caddle |
2012–2013 | Andrew Marks (Honorable mention to Omar Chu.) | Matt Passmore | Oliver Roberts | Matt Passmore | Tony Christie | Matt Passmore / Omar Chu |
Season records
Season | Goals | # | Assists | # | PIM | # |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
07-08 | Peter Lee | 17 | James Davidson | 13 | Peter Lee | 72 |
11-12 | Nazar Striletski | 38 | Daniel Cannon | 22 | ||
12-13 | Mitch White | 30 | Mitch White | 24 | Carl Atkinson | 37 |
All-time records
Record | Player | Number |
---|---|---|
Most Points | Nazar Striletski | 134 |
Goals in a Game | Peter Lee/Nazar Striletski | 7 |
Seasons Played | Thomas Dawson | 6 |
Minutes Played in a Match | Tim Kelly | 56 |
PIM | Peter Lee | 80 |
![](../I/SabresAlumni.jpg.webp)
Sabres Alumni Game
Season | Winning Team |
---|---|
2014–2015 | Current |
2015–2016 | N/A |